Expanding the 'AI Alliance'... "Korea to Become an Irreplaceable Global Supply Chain" [President Lee's U.S. Tour]

[Financial News, San Francisco, U.S. and Seoul = Choi Jong-geun, Seong Seok-woo] President Lee Jae-myung expanded the scope of AI cooperation in San Francisco by bringing together CEOs of major global tech firms and leaders of key Korean companies. If the $950 billion long-term semiconductor supply deal was the first tangible result, the 'San Francisco meeting' attended by the president was significant in that it laid a foundation of trust for Korean companies and global big tech to cooperate across the AI supply chain, infrastructure, models, and services.
On the 24th local time, President Lee met separately in San Francisco with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei before attending the San Francisco AI Summit. On the Korean side, Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group; Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group; and Lee Hae-jin, chairman of Naver's board, were present.
At the summit, President Lee announced the 'San Francisco AI Declaration' and outlined a vision of turning South Korea into a global AI production base and the foundation for AI innovation. The plan is to leverage Korea's strength in memory semiconductors and manufacturing capacity to emerge as a key country in an irreplaceable global AI supply chain.
The declaration also said Korea would not stop at supplying AI chips, but would create a new market that uses AI faster and more effectively than anyone else. President Lee also proposed building a horizontal network of cooperation with various countries so that more nations and citizens can take part in the AI ecosystem, positioning Korea as a global hub.
Global tech leaders were said to have responded positively to Korea's three major mega projects. Chief of Staff Kim said, "Sam Altman directly referred to the three major mega projects as if they were a proper noun," adding, "The other attendees also unanimously welcomed Korea's announcement that it would make timely investments in infrastructure."
Broadcom CEO Hock Tan is said to have stressed the need for government support for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Chief of Staff Kim explained, "Hock Tan said Samsung and Hynix are also major customers of Broadcom, and asked for strong support for the two companies," adding that the point was that this matters not only for Korea, but for the entire global AI industry.
After the AI summit, President Lee, global tech leaders, and heads of major Korean companies shared dinner at a local restaurant. Over mini burgers, fish and chips, fried squid, and clam chowder, the attendees held relaxed conversations and discussed ways to cooperate on AI.
At the dinner, President Lee introduced the Korean word "sikgu." He explained, "In our country, people who are like family are called sikgu. It means people who eat together." When President Lee later shouted, "We are," the attendees responded, "Sikgu," and clinked their beer glasses.
CEO Jensen Huang and others also gave high marks to Korea's AI capabilities. According to Chief of Staff Kim, Huang referred to Korea's research talent and technological base and said that if investment were made in Korea, a top-tier frontier AI model could be built in a short period of time. He also suggested that Korea should not stop at using overseas AI models, but should create its own.
The government plans to use this meeting as a springboard to accelerate the implementation of the three major mega projects. Chief of Staff Kim said, "This schedule, which included individual CEO meetings, the AI summit, and the dinner, was an opportunity for the Korean government, companies, and global big tech firms to greatly strengthen cooperation to reinforce the AI supply chain and create new markets," adding, "We will produce visible results from the three major mega projects as early as possible."
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